Edward Brooks – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Algarve

First Mate Edward Brooks – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Algarve

Birth and Family Background

Edward Brooks was born in 1873 at Newport, Monmouthshire, the son of William Glass Brooks and Elizabeth Brooks.

Marriage and Residence

Official records relating to Edward are limited. He married Annie Christina Johnson, and the couple made their home at 31 Danygraig Road, Swansea.

Mercantile Marine Service and Death

S.S. Algarve

During the First World War, Edward served in the Mercantile Marine, holding the rank of First Mate aboard the S.S. Algarve.

The S.S. Algarve was a defensively armed British cargo steamship of 1,274 gross register tons, built in 1898 by Lobnitz & Company, Renfrew (Yard No. 487) for DFDS, Copenhagen. In 1917, she was purchased by Lambert Brothers, London, as nominee for the British Government, and later that year was taken over by the Shipping Controller.

On 20^th October 1917, while 15 miles west-south-west of Portland Bill, Algarve was torpedoed without warning and sunk by the German submarine UB-38. At the time of the attack, the vessel was on a voyage from Rouen to Swansea, travelling in ballast.

Edward Brooks
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Rosources;
The Merchant Navy Memorial

Edward Brooks was among those who lost their lives in the sinking. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, which honours members of the Merchant Navy who died during the First World War and have no known place of burial.